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THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, & 


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From the PUBLISHER. 
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Biei3o: «B25 1847 
Balch, Lewis Penn 
Witherspoon, 1814-1875. 
God in the storm 


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GOD IN THE STORM: 


A NARRATIVE 


eRe Ve idk oc Ee ak a ee a FE 


AN ADDRESS, 


BY 
REV. LYMAN BEECHER, D.D. 


AND 


A SERMON, 
BY THE 


BEV. THOMAS SMY TE Dierps 


PREPARED ON BOARD THE GREAT WESTERN, AFTER 
THE STORM ENCOUNTERED ON HER 
RECENT VOYAGE. 


ia 


NEW-YORK: 
ROBERT CARTER, 58 CANAL STREET. 
PITTSBURG: 56 MARKET STREET. 


1847. 
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ADVERTISEMENT. 


—_~+—— 


THe nature and design of the following work 
will be apparent from its contents. It is a pillar 
of remembrance, a memento of danger and deliy- 
erance, and a testimonial of gratitude. It shows 
how God brings light out of darkness and good 
out of evil, to them that seek Him. The occa- 
sion gave rise to its contents, which were all 
written on board the vessel, for the purposes 
referred to in each, and given without modifi- 
cation or adaptation to the rules of refined taste 
or of caustic criticism. 'T'o our fellow-voyagers 
those, “‘ memorials of the sea” will be grateful; 
and to all who delight to trace God’s footsteps, 
even the repeated delineations of the storm, 
given in each of the publications, will be inter- 
esting as exhibiting in different lights one of 
God’s most wonderful works. 


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NARRATIVE. 


SATURDAY, September 18th, 1846. 


The steamship Great Western, B. R. 
Mathews, Esq., Commander, left Liver- 
pool at 4 o’clock, P. M., having on board 
one hundred and twenty-six passengers, 
Captain, five officers, five engineers and 
seventy-four crew, in all two hundred 
and eleven persons. 

The weather, generally, was pleasant 
for the season of the year, and our pro- 
gress good, averaging 200 miles a day. 


“Saturday, Sept. 19th, lat. 48 34, long. 37 43, 
at 4 p. m., light airs from the S. E. and foggy, with 
light drizzling rain. Got the yards aloft, and set 
the jibs and fore spencer. Breezes refreshing. At 
6 set the single-reefed main spencer and the square 
sails, with two reefs in the topsail. 


Uo ) 

“ At 8 p. m., the wind increasing and variable to 
the westward, took in the square sails, outer jib and 
main spencer. At 10 pv. m., freshening gales and 
ugly weather; sea getting up and tossing high. 
At midnight, increasing gales and, heavy squalls; 
took in the fore spencer, the outhall having broken ; 
in the mean time, the inner jib-stay bull’s eye hook 
broke and the sail became useless; hauled it down 
and set the fore stay-sail.” 


The above is an extract from the cap- 
tain’s log book, and gives an account of 
the commencement of the awful storm 
which the Great Western surmounted 
on her passage from Liverpool to New- 
York; one so terrific during its contin- 
uance, and marked by such a signal de- 
liverance in the end, that it should be 
earefully related. 


“ Sunday, 20th, at 40 minutes past 2 a...,” con- 
tinues the log, “split the fore stay-sail; took in the 
remains of it, and lay to under bare poles. 

“The sea rising frightfully, and breaking over 
and against the ship. At 4, the wind increased to 
a heavy storm, and the sea running most furi- 
ously at the ship. The wind veering to the N. W. 
at the same time, and the ship breaking off into the 


Kae ® 


trough of the sea, rendered our situation more criti- 
cal. A great quantity of water got into the engine 
room, from the sea breaking over the ship, which 
was pumped out by the lee bilge pump.” 

Sunday morning most of the passen- 
gers assembled in the cabin and saloon. 
Their haggard faces told too surely of 
the sleepless and anxious night which 
they had passed. Even those most ig- 
norant of nautical affairs could not fail 
to discover that we were in the midst 
of great peril. Few could dress with 
their accustomed care, owing to the vio- 
lent pitching and constant rolling of the 
vessel. ‘The stewards abandoned any 
attempt to prepare the breakfast table, 
and both then, and throughout the day, 
were obliged to content themselves 
with bringing such articles of food as 
were most convenient, to those who felt 
any disposition to eat. 

“11 o'clock, A. M.—A heavy sea broke over the 
fore-part of the starboard wheel house, or paddle 


box, which started the ice house, and large iron life 
boat, from theirfastenings, and washed them to 


C3 
lee-ward, and with much difficulty they were tem- 
porarily secured.” 


To understand this, the reader must 
bear in mind that the Great Western is, 
so to speak, three stories high forward 
and aft;and two in the waist, or middle 
of the ship: aft, there is the lower story 
or cabin; above it, the saloon, the roof 
or covering of which is the quarter deck, 
and may, for the purposes of description, 
be considered as a third story. In the 
waist, or middle, the lower story is oc- 
cupied by the engine room, the roof or 
covering of which is the main deck. 
On this main deck, in the centre, are 
placed the chimney, galleys, and ice 
house. ‘The various oflices appertaining 
to the stewards and police of the ship, 
at the sides. This part is open above ; 
and protected by the wheel-houses and 
sides of the ship, which rise to the height 
of fourteen feet. ‘The width of the pad- 
dle box is about twelve feet. The ice 
house contained some seven or eight tons 


(9 ) 


of ice, and was fastened by cleets and 
stauncheons. Let the reader imagine 
the force of the sea, and the height of 
the waves, which, rising over the paddle 
box, struck the ice house and the large 
iron life boat above it, twisted them from 
their fastenings, breaking the ice house 
into two parts, ripping off the planks, 
crushing the starboard companion way, 
and only prevented from making a clear 
breach in the sides of the ship, by a sud- 
den lurch to port. Meantime the wind 
howled most frightfully through the 


rigging. 


“ At 11 o’clock and 15 minutes A. M., attempt- 
ed to wear ship, to get her on the other tack, (think- 
ing she would be easier,) as the wind still continu- 
ed to veer to northward. Lowered the after gaffs 
down ; manned the fore rigging, and loosened the 
weather yard arm of the foresail, to pay her off, but 
found it had no effect. Therefore let her come to 
again. In the mean time the square sails blew 
away from the yards. 

“11, 30, A. M. The lee quarter boats were torn 
from the davits by a heavy lee lurch of the ship, 


( 10 ) 


bending the davits, tearing out the ringbolts from 
their stems and sterns.” 

Word was passed among the passen- 
gers that two of our boats were gone, 
and the others were likely to follow, the 
davits and bolts beginning to give. But 
not a remark was made ; each spoke to 
the other only through the eye. And 
the ominous silence which pervaded the 
whole company, told how sensibly all 
felt themselves in the very presence of 
the King of Terrors, uncertain of their 
doom. 

It was wonderful to see how a few 
short hours changed the condition and 
feelings of all on board. The grades 
and distinctions incident to so large a 
company, varying in social position, citi- 
zens of almost all countries, and profess- 
ing different creeds, yet, in the pres- 
ence of so imminent danger, all distine- 
tions seemed merged into one common 
emotion of awe, as we stood together in 
the court of the great leveller, Death. 


ee ee 


( m ) 


With this intense feeling, which bound 
us together as one, came also another of 
an opposite and repelling character. 
Every heart was deeply occupied with 
its individual griefs and memories, as if 
not another shared the peril. Home, 
with its loved ones, and a thousand 
cherished hopes and joys, rose fresh to 
the view, and with a power like the 
storm, swept over the mind and left it, 
like the ocean-tempest, tost and troub- 
led. 

“See,” said a gentleman to me, “ no, 
one converses, no one reads—all are en- 
gaged, each with his own thoughts ; and 
if my wife and children were here, I 
confess, my feelings would be of the 
most distressing character.” ‘ But,” 
said I, they suffer in your loss.” “ Very 
true ; yet it is only a question of time, 
and, whether sooner or later, God’s will 
be done.” 


“ At noon, storm and sea raging in all its fury, 
sea still breaking over the ship, a heavy sea struck 


€ & ) 


the larboard paddle box and smashed it to atoms ; 
sprung the spring beam, breaking the under half; 
shattered the parts of the ship attached thereto. A 
splinter struck the captain on the head while stand- 
ing on the poop, and the force of the blow, together 
with the sea, carried him over the lee quarter, and 
he was only saved by the nettings. 

“ After this sea had passed over, we found the 
water had gained on the pumps; the wind appear- 
ed to lull a little and the ship a little easier, but still 
blowing a storm. All the hatches, except those 
made use of for passing into the engine room, were 
battened down, and the skylights partially covered. 
The weather continued the same until midnight, at 
which time it lulled for half an hour.” 


The log conveys to the reader some 
idea of the state of the ship and effects 
of the storm on Sunday at noon. Its 
effects on those below can best be giv- 
en in the words of a gentleman who re- 
mained the greater part of the time in 
the cabin: 


“To convey an idea of the appearance of all 
around, is out of my power. In the words of She- 
ridan, ‘the tempest roamed in all the terror of its 
glory.’ The atmosphere was surcharged with a 


—_ 


{WES ¥) 


thick spray, rendering a look far out to seaward, 
impossible. The wind howled, roared and bellow- 
ed, like the constant muiterings of the thunder- 
cloud. Huge waves, of tremendous height and 
volume, rose in mad display around the ship, 
threatening every moment to break over us amid- 
ships, and crush the vessel. Sea after sea striking 
us with terrific noise, caused the gallant ship to 
stop for an instant, tremble and shake in every 
timber, from her stem to her stern-post; reeling and 
lurching, tossed to and fro, again would she gather 
fresh strength, and with her wheels half hid in the 
wild waters, again and again receive the thunder- 
ing blows of an element that seemed armed for our 
destruction. 

The sails on the yards, strongly secured by ropes 
and gaskets, were blown from their furls and 
streamed out to leeward in ribbons. But all this 
was as nothing. About 1 P. M., whilst most of us 
were seated in agonizing suspense in the lower 
cabin, holding fast to the tables and settees, a sea 
struck the vessel, and a tremendous crash was heard 
on deck ; instantly the cabin was darkened, and tor- 
rents of water came pouring down upon us through 
the skylights. 

_ “Scarcely had the waters reached the floor, 
when all in the cabins and state rooms sprang to 
their feet, and simultaneously, as if by concert, the 
ladies uttered a scream of agony, so painful, so 


( M4 9 


fearful, and so despairing, the sound of it will never 
be forgotten: and heaven grant that such a wail of 
anguish may never again be heard by me. Seve- 
ral fainted—others clasped their hands in mute 
despair, whilst many called aloud upon their Crea- 
tor.” 

The crash to which the writer alludes 
was caused by the tearing up of the 
benches and other wood work on the 
quarter-deck. These were hurled with 
violence against the sky-lights, by the 
same sea which broke the windows of 
the saloon, drenching the berths on the 
larboard side, driving out their affright-_ 
ed occupants, whilst it smashed by its 
weight the glass over the main cabin, 
and thus forced its way below. 

This was a period of intense emotion. 
I was sitting in the upper saloon, stri- 
ving to protect some Jadies from injury. 
So violent were the shocks of the ves- 
sel, although firmly braced, it was with 
great difficulty we could prevent our- 
‘selves being hurled from our seats, and 
dashed with such violence against a part 


( 16) 


of the vessel, as to endanger life or limb. 
Many received severe contusions and 
bruises, notwithstanding all their efforts. 

“Pwas an anxious hour. My eye 
wandered over the different groups in 
the saloon. Resting one while on a Fa- 
ther passing from one to another of his 
family, and cheering with a kind word 
an interesting group of daughters. Then 
on a young wife, folded to the bosom of 
her husband without a syllable being 
uttered, but the action spoke volumes ; 
and again upon a mother whose children 
had been left in America, as she clasped 
her hands as if in secret prayer, whilst 
her husband and her father gathered 
around, and all seemed bowed down to 
earth in one common feeling of tender 
solicitude for those who might so soon 
become helpless orphans. 

It was an awful hour. The most 
thoughtless amongst us cowered in their 
secret hearts before a danger, which 
none but a fool or a brute would have- 


Se i 


mocked, and all therefore accepted the 
invitation to meet in the cabin for prayer. 

Rev. Mr. Marsh read the 107th Psalm. 
Rev. Dr. Smucker prayed. Rev. Dr. 
Beecher made a few solemn remarks. 
Rev. Dr. Balch repeated the words of 
Our Saviour, “ Let not your heart be 
troubled, ye believe in God, believe also 
in me,’—commenting briefly on their 
consoling import, and then invited all 
present to join with him in the Lord’s 
prayer; after which he pronounced the 
Apostolic benediction. 

Night approached. And again I quote 
from the gentleman who has kindly 
given an account of what took place 
below. 


“ Amid this acctinulation of horrors, and still 
more to add to our alarm, night gathered in around 
us. The wind, far from abating, was on the increase, 
the lulls in the storm being less frequent, and the 
squalls, if any thing, more terrific. The whole 
ocean was one sea of foam, lashed up into terrible 
waves, wild and angry, whilst the spray and wind 
seemed driven through the rigging and over the 


ee 


ship, as if with demoniacal power. As darkness 
came, clustered together in the cabin, we all thought 
and reflected on our fate. Most, if not all of us, 
had given ourselves up for lost. For what with 
the heavy labouring of the ship, the terrible noise 
and howling of the wind, the continued frequent 
thumpings of the sea, the quivering and shak- 
ing of the groaning timbers, the carrying away of 
so many portions of the vessel’s upper works, and 
the knowledge that we were perhaps for another 
night to be exposed to the full power of a raging 
hurricane, left us little to hope for.” 

In the evening, about 9 o’clock, the Rev. Mr. 
Balch, at the request of several passengers, ad- 
ministered the Holy Communion in the cabin, 
to upwards of sixty persons—many of whom re- 
ceived it there, for the first time in their lives. 
Several applied to him as to the propriety of their 
embracing that occasion to fulfil a long-cherished 
purpose of their hearts, but which, like many other 
““good thoughts,” had been deferred to “a more 
convenient season.” ‘They all communicated, to- 
gether with others of almost every creed and na- 
tion, thus reminding us of the promise of Scripture, 
‘they shall come from the East and the West, the 
North and,the South, and sit down with Abraham 
and Isaae and Jacob, in the kingdom of God.” 


It was a most solemn scene. Mr. 


( & ) 


Balch first read the service appointed 
for a storm at sea, after which, the whole 
communion office. ‘The terrible conflict 
of the elements which raged without, 
was rendered yet more striking by the 
impressive stillness which pervaded that 
company of Christ’s disciples within. 

Gathered around the table, they re- 
ceived into hearts deeply moved, the 
consecrated emblems of the Redeemer’s 
body and blood. All felt comforted by 
the blessed ordinance of grace. Many 
a bosom, before tossed with fear, was 
now tranquil through faith. Once more, 
all renewed their vows, and realized the 
peace of God shed abroad in their hearts, 
and felt, with a vividness perhaps never 
before known, “ Your life is hid with 
God in Christ.” Oh! it was a night 
and a communion long to be remem- 
bered. 

After the communion, I returned to 
my state room. ‘The gentleman who 
shared it with me, had gone below to 


Che | 


die, as he expected, in company with his 
daughter and son-in-law. Left there- 
fore alone, taking a last look at the pic- 
tures of my little family, and commending 
them, and all dear to me, to the grace 
and protection of God, I laid down and 
slept peacefully. 


‘‘ Monday, 21st, 12 30, continues the log, the 
storm commenced raging again in all its fury, and 
the sea a perfect foam, ’till 8 A. M., at which time 
the clouds began to break, and the squalls less 
furious. Got the ship’s head to the N. W., and 
hauled the yards round, the sea still raging as_ 
before, and nearly ahead, curling and breaking 
ever the ship in every direction. At noon the 
storm ceased ; but the sea continued more violent 
till 2 P. M., at which time it ceased gradually with 
the wind—having lasted about 36 hours; during 
which time, it gives me much pleasure to state, my 
officers and crew conducted themselves with great 
coolness and presence of mind.” 


At half-past 5 o’clock on Monday 
morning, we were in the greatest. pos- 
sible danger. : 

Mr. Stevens, one of our passengers 
who was an eye witness, says of it— 


( 20 ) 


« A peculiar lifting of the haze in the east, with 
‘an appearance of an amber-coloured belt of light, 
‘low down on the horizon, warned us of an ap- 
proaching blow. Presently it came, a perfect tor- 
nado, driving before it the clouds of spray, and as 
it neared us, fairly lifting up the white foam from 
the waves, like a shower of rain. As the squall 
struck us, the ship careened over and buried her 
gunwales in the ocean, and lay for a few moments 
stricken powerless, and apparently at the mercy of 
the savage waves that threatened to engulf us.— 
This was the trial, the last round fought between 
the elements and our gallant vessel. At this criti- 
cal moment, the engine was true to her duty. 
Stil] went on its revolutions, and round and round 
thundered her iron water wings. Gradually re- 
- covering her upright position, the good ship, with 
head quartering the sea, came up to her course, 
\ and all was well. It was the climax of the storm, 
the last great effort of the whirlwind king, to send 
lus to the sea-giants’ cave below.” 


On Monday about 12, the storm had 
abated sufficient to admit of standing on 
the upper step of the companion-way — 
with safety. It was a sublime, but an aw- 
ful spectacle. ‘The ocean still laboured 
under the effects of the hurricane. The 


a 


wind veered 20 points in 36 hours ; it is 
impossible to imagine or describe the 
wild and tangled confusion of the waves. 
Rising to a height apparently greater, 
than that of the mainmast, they leaped) 
amd roared around the ship, as if hungry, 
and maddened at the loss of their prey. 
At times the Great Western seemed as 
if lowered by unseen spirits into her 
watery grave ; and every moment you | 
expected it to be filled in, and her re-_ 
quiem sung by the winds amidst the’ 
wilderness of waters. | 

But our danger was past, and with 
grateful hearts, on Tuesday morning, all 
assembled in the cabin to render an act 
of common prayer and thanksgiving. 

Rev. Dr. Smucker read a psalm and 
made some appropriate introductory re- 
marks ; and Rev. Dr. Beecher addressed 
the passengers at length and with much 
force on the mercy we had experienced, 
and prayer was offered. 

After the religious services were end- 


( 22 ) 


ed, Archibald Gracie, Esq., of New 
York, was called to the chair, and the 
Rev. Mr. Marsh appointed secretary. 
On motion, it was 

Resolved, That a committee be appointed to 
draft a resolution expressive of our gratitude to 
Almighty God for his great goodness in our almost 
miraculous deliverance from destruction ; and also 
to the captain, officers and crew of the ship, for 
their arduous labours, and their skill, firmness, and 
perseverance, in carrying the ship through her late 
perilous condition. 

The same committee were charged with the 
duty of reporting a suitable memorial of our grati- 
tude to the captain, officers and crew. 


‘The Chairman, Secretary, Rev. Dr. 
Beecher of Cincinnati, Rev. Mr. Balch, 
Dr. Washington and Dr. Detmold of N. 
Y., Mr. Hutchinson of Geo., Mr. F. Ma- 
ther of Geneva, and Mr. Rawlings of 
England, constituted said committee. 

The Rev. Mr. Balch, at the request 
of the committee, stated at a subsequent 
meeting of the passengers, the conclu- 
sions at which the committee had arriv- 


( 23) 


ed, when subsequently it was resolved, 
that two subscription papers be opened, 
one for the purpose of giving a suitable 
testimonial to the captain, officers. and 
crew, the other to form the nucleus of a 
fund for the relief of the families of those 
whose heads and supporters have been 
lost at sea, and to be called “The Great 
Western Fund.” Said money. in the 
mean time to be deposited in the hands 
of James Boorman, Pelatia Perritt, Rev. 
Lewis P. W. Balch, James Lenox, and 
Robert B. Minturn, of New York, as 
Trustees. | 
In pursuance of the above resolution, 
Mr. Gracie addressed the following let- 
ter to Captain Mathews :— 
At Sea, on Board of Steam-ship, 
Great WESTERN, Sept. 28th, 1846. | 


Cart. Matuews: 

Sir,—As Chairman of the Committee appointed 
by the Passengers on board of this ship, I have 
now the pleasure of informing you, that the sum 
of £200 10s. have been subscribed by them, to be 
presented to the “ Captain, officers and crew of the 


( 24) 


Great Western,” as a token of the estimation 
which is entertained of their valuable services 
during the late perilous scenes through which we 
have passed. To those services, as well as to the 
great strength and other admirable qualities of 
your noble ship, we are (under Providence) indebt- 
ed for the preservation of our lives. 

To yourself in particular (without overlooking 
the meed of praise due to others) we would express 
our feelings of admiration of the coolness and skill 
displayed by you during the trying period of peril 
when, while endeavouring to prevent alarm among 
us, you did not, when called on, withhold from us 
your sense of the danger to which we were exposed. 

Of the above subscription, in behalf of the pas- 
sengers, I ask your acceptance of the sum of £80, 
now presented to you by the Treasurer, in the 
beautiful purse which has been worked for the oc- 
casion by one of our fair passengers; and to dis- 
tribute the remainder, which is contained in another 
beautiful purse presented by one of our fair passen- 
gers, among the officers and crew under your com- 
mand, agreeably to the schedule which accompanies 
it. 

At the same time it gives me pleasure to inform 
you, that a liberal contribution has been made, with 
the view of creating a fund for the relief of families 
whose heads and supporters have been lost at sea; 
and that in compliment to yourself and this ship, as 


( 25 ) 


well as in commemoration of the signal mercy we 
have experienced in her, it is to be called the “ Great 
Western Fund.” 
‘With sincere wishes for your continued health 
and prosperity, I remain, with great regard, 
. Respectfully yours, 
ARCHIBALD GRACIE. 


Chairman. 


To this letter Captain Mathews re- 
turned the following answer: - .- 


Great Western S. §., at Sea, 
Sept. 28th, 1846. 


To A. Gractig, Chairman, &c. 

Sir: Your letter to me in behalf of the passen- 
gers by the Great Western steamship, under my 
command, I feel as a very great compliment to my 
ship, officers and self; and in reply, I beg to tender 
most gratefully our best thanks and warmest re- 
gards. 

It is to Divine Providence alone that we are all 
indebted for our safety. For during my long ex- 
petience at sea, [ never witnessed so severe a storm, 
and were it not for the good qualities of my noble 
ship, under the direction of God, she could not have 
weathered it. 

fam more than pleased at the step your Com- 
mittee have taken to promote the interest of the 
widows and orphans of seamen and others lost at 


( 26 ) 


sea. And I am sure that the Directors of the Great 
Western S. S. Co., with myself, and all interested 
in this ship, will consider it a high compliment 
which you have conferred upon her. And I for 
one, will contribute my mite to this glorious under- 
taking, and I have no doubt but my officers and 
crew will follow my example. 
I have the honour to be, 
Sir, your ob’t serv’t, 


BARNARD R. MATHEWS. 


Mr. Gracie also handed to Mr. Balch, 
as one of the Trustees of the Great 
Western Fund, the following letter: 


On board the Steamship Great Western, 
Sept. 29th, 1846. 

Gentlemen—I have been directed to inform you, 
by the Committee appointed by those passengers on 
board of the Great Western, who have made a con- 
tribution for the purpose of forming the nucleus of 
a fund “ for the relief of the families whose heads 
and supporters have been lost at'sea, and which, in 
compliment to the Captain and ship, as well as in 
commemoration of the signal mercy we have expe- 
rienced in her, is to be called the ‘‘ Great Western 
Fund”—that they have unanimously named you 
Trustees of said Fund. 

The subscription now amounts to $580—which 
sum will be handed over to you by the Treasurer, 


ae”) 


Robert Hutchison, Esq., to be invested in such man- 
ner as you may deem best, in order that the inter- 
est accruing from this and subsequent subscriptions, 
may be applied to the object proposed. 

We doubt not you will lend your valuable co- 
operation to the furtherance of this noble charity, 
which deserves, as doubtless it will receive, the cor- 
dial support of the community at large. 

I have the honour, gentlemen, to remain, 
Your obedient servant, 


ARCHIBALD GRACIE. 


To Messrs. James Boorman, Pelatiah Perrit, Rev. 
Lewis P. W. Balch, James Lenox and Robert 
_ B. Minturn. 


_ The following resolution, expressive 
of our gratitude to Almighty God, and of 
regard for the Captain, officers and crew, 
was subsequently adopted. 
_ Ata meeting of the passengers held 
on board the Great Western, Sept. 29th, 
1846, and unanimously adopted,— 
Resolved, In review of the perils of the late 
gale, which threatened the termination of our 
earthly plans, and endeared social relations for the 


allotments of eternity, and of our deliverance with 
the cheering prospect of restoration to our families 


( 23 ) 


and friends, we desire with grateful hearts to ren- 
der to God the homage of our devout thanksgiving; 
with our supplications that He will sanctify to us 
the admonitions of His providence, and render 
them subservient to our present and future well- 
being. We would also render praise to Him for 
the calmness and decision and endurance granted 
the captain, officers and seamen of the ship, 
through the whole period of the protracted storm ; 
and for the solemnity, and equanimity, and good 
* conduct which, amidst such protracted and appalling 
dangers, characterized the passengers and inmates 


of the ship. 


So closes the record of this memora- 
ble storm. But never can its recollec- 
tion be effaced from the minds of those 
who were exposed to its perils. 

When the danger had all passed, said 
the Captain to me, “ Thrice on deck I 
thought destruction inevitable. Each 
time asea of such magnitude and power 
came at the ship, that I thought it was 
all over with us. But unexpectedly 
each broke just at the side of the ship. 
Sir, the hand of the Lord was in it.” 
Yes, the hand of the Lord was in it—may 


( 29 ) 


we never forget ’twas the hand of the 
Lord. 


The above narrative, correspondence, 
letters and resolutions having been sub- 
mitted by the Committee and unani- 
mously authenticated at a public meeting 
of the passengers, held on board the 
Great Western, Sept. 29th, 1846, the 
meeting directed that the whole should 
be published in the papers of New-York 
and Liverpool, and a copy forwarded to 
the Directors of the Great Western 
Steamship Company. The meeting then 
adjourned, sine die. 


ARCH. GRACIE, Chairman. 
LYMAN BEECHER, 
LEWIS P. W. BALCH, 
JOHN MARSH, 

JAS. A. WASHINGTON, 
W. DETMOLD, M. D: 

A. HUTCHISON, 
THOMAS RAWLINGS, 
JS. MATHIEU. 


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DR. BEECHER’S 
ADDRESS TO THE MEETING 


CONVENED ON BOARD 


THE GREAT WESTERN, 
SEPTEMBER 22, 1846, 


To offer Thanksgivings to God for their Preserva- 
tion through the recent protracted Storm. 


I have never before been called to 
speak in circumstances like these. A 
few days since, we stood here before 
God, to supplicate deliverance from a 
threatened speedy death. I have before 
supposed myself not far from the grave, 
but it was at home, surrounded by my 
family and friends, and whatever could 
cheer the dying hour. But never, till 


( 2 ) 


recently, did I realise, that probably 
there might be but a step between me 
and death; and in full health, amid the 
war of elements, await in suspense the 
stroke which at any moment might fall 
upon us all. But the storm is past, and 
we are all alive, to praise him who heard 
our supplications and preserved us. And 
what direction of our thoughts can be 
more proper, than a brief review of the 
perils we have passed through? The 
_ evidence of the Divine interposition in 
answer to prayer to save us, and the re- 
turns which it becomes us to make for 
our signal and merciful preservation. 

In respect to our dangers, I need not 
say to you who passed through them, 
that they were great. 

For thirty-six hours the wind raved 
and the waves rolled with a fury and 
power unknown, for so long a time, to 
the most experienced navigators on 
board. ‘Travelling mountains, with the 
power of the Iceberg, the Avalanche or 


Ceo;°) 


the Niagara, for one day and two nights, 
as far as eye could reach, covered 
the surface of the deep; thundering 
loud and unceasingly around us. The 
onset commenced on Saturday night, 
and raged increasingly till Sabbath 
morning, when, instead of mitigation, it 
gathered new power, and then com- 
menced the work of desolation. 

The sails on the fore yards, clued 
down, burst from their fastenings, and 
roared and flapped furiously, defying 
control. In the meantime, the sea rose 
rapidly, breaking over and against the 
ship. At 4 A. M. it had risen to a hur- 
ricane gale, and veering -to the North- 
west ; the ship at the same time broke 
from her course into the trough of the 
sea ; a condition of imminent peril, dur- 
ing which a sea broke in upon the main 
deck, and drove a great quantity of water 
into the engine room; a stroke at the 
heart of life, our machinery. 

At 11 o’clock, A. M., a heavy wave 


{48 7) 


broke over the fore part of the starboard 
wheel-house, and drove the iron life- 
boat and the ice-house—of some six or 
seven tons—furiously against the wheel- 
house and side of the ship; and before 
they could be fastened, the careening 
of the ship sent them sundry times back 
and forth, threatening instant destrue- 
tion. Such, and so rapid, were the 
‘Successions of disaster, that an attempt 
was made to wear ship, as less perilous 
_ than her present condition ; but finding 
her uncontrollable, she was permitted 
to return to her course ; probably our 
greatest danger escaped. 

About noon, a mighty wave struck 
the starboard wheel-house, and tore up 
the fastenings of spikes, and iron bands 
and bolts ; throwing off the whole top 
and outside covering, breaking the 
under half of the spring beam, and shook 
to their foundation, and lowered per- 
ceptibly, the timbers which sustained 
the wheel, Thus enfeebling the arm of 


eo) 


our power in the climax of our danger. 
The wave, with portions of the wreck, 
rolled deep and dark over the quarter- 
deck ; one of which struck the Captain 
on the head, whilé the wave drove him 
insensible to the stern of the ship, where 
the network did but barely save him 
from an ocean grave. 

About 1 o’clock, while many were 
seated in the lower cabin, a sea struck 
the ship. A tremendous crash was 
heard on deck, and instantly the cabin 
was darkened, and torrents of water 
came pouring down through the sky- 
‘lights; all sprang to their feet; and a 
seream of terror rang through the ship. 
At this time, the ship pitched and rolled 
so fearfully, that with no little difhculty 
we could maintain our position upon our 
seats, and not a few received bruises 
and contusions, notwithstanding their 
efforts. 

In these circumstances, you remem-_ 
ber, a proposition was made, and accept- 


ve) 


ed, I believe, by all who could attend, 
to meet in the lower cabin for prayer. 
It was prayer, not in words and forms 
merely, but the importunity of the heart ; 
crushed by perils fro which it could 
not escape, and pressed by the complex 
interests of time and eternity ; looking 
up to the only power in the universe 
that could save. Subsequently to this 
meeting, in the evening, Dr. Balch 
concluded to administer the sacramental 
communion in his own room, for his 
own, and the consolation of a few 
friends; but his purpose becoming 
known, the number who desired to 
unite so increased, that the service was 
administered in the cabin. Having no 
knowledge of the change of place, my- 
self and. some others of my ministerial 
brethren were not present. In the mean 
time the storm raged on; but from the 
time of our public supplications, the de- 
solations ceased. 

\ We had hoped, the preceding night, 


Ce 7 


that the morning would bring a change ; 
and in the morning, that noon would | 
witness a favourable crisis ; and at noon, | 
the evening would realise our hopes, 
But the storm travelled on, from morn- | 
ing to neon, and from noon to evening, 
with augmented power, till it became 
evident that we must encounter the 
terrors of another night; and though 
our hopes of deliverance were not utterly 
extinguished, my own, and the general 
opinion was, that the ship would not 
ride out the storm of another night. 
Not that she would founder intact, amid 
any winds or waves the Atlantic would 
bring upon her; but that, smitten by 
their relentless powers, she would be 
torn, and crushed, and sunk. And now, 
while prayer unceasing went up to God, 
I have cause to know that, on the part 
of numbers, immediate preparations for 
eternity commenced, in the rapid re- 
trospect of the past, the circumspection 
of the present, and the anticipations of 


Cw 


the future ; and not a few, I trust, with 
calm resignation and peace that passeth 
knowledge, and joy unspeakable, were 
prepared to meet their God. 

And now the dreaded night came on, 
in darkness visible and terrible convul- 
sions. It was long and dreadful. On 
my pillow, without sleep, as I had done 
the night preceding, I watched it, and 
learned thoroughly the chart of the 
ship’s, and winds’ and waves’ motion. 

it commenced with a long, slow, roll 
of the ship, to and fro, almost from 
beam’s end to beam’s end, thrice repeat- 
ed. Then ensued a momentary quiet 
and onward motion of the ship, and then 
suddenly the thunder of winds and 
waves began, loud and louder, and more 
powerful and rending, as if every por- 
tion of our ship would be torn in frag- 
ments and scattered upon the deep. 
Then gradually the thunderings ceased, 
as if the elements, wearied and breath- 
less by their joint efforts, had paused to 


cm) 


rest and gain breath for another assault. 
This dreadful rotation continued till be- 
tween three and four o’clock, when all 
at once the one thunder seemed to burst 
into many thunders of equal power, and 
without intermission roared and_ tossed. 
and tore, as if the conspiracy of winds 
and waves were rallying all their forces, 
and making their last effort to destroy 
us. But gradually it subsided, only to 
give place, about five o’clock, to a squall 
more terrible. In the language of an 
intelligent passenger, “It struck the 
ship suddenly, a perfect tornado. She 
careened over, and buried her gunwales 
in the ocean; her wheel-house, covered 
by the waves, that helped the wind to 
lay her on her side. There she lay for 
a few moments, stricken powerless, at 
the mercy of the waves. At this criti- 
cal moment, when another wave might 
have finished her, the engine was true 
to her duty, and round and round thun- 
dered her iron wings; when gradually 


( 10 ) 


recovering her upright position, the good 
ship quartering to the sea, came up to 
her course.” This condition of the ship 
in the deep gulf, on her beams’ ends 
almost, and covered with waves, was 
seen by another, who, witnessing her 
hesitation and trembling for so long a 
time in her deplorable condition, con- 
cluded that she would never rise. And 
the same deep careening was felt by 
another, who started up, thinking that 
all was over and the ship sinking in the 
waves of the sea. 

And now, at last, when the wind 
veered to the North, and the clouds 
were lifted up, and the morning light 
shone brighter upon us, and we thought 
all danger past, the real danger of the 
ship, in the lulling of the wind, travel- 
ling over such mountains and valleys of 
water, was scarcely diminished; per- 
haps even augmented. I stood at this 
time upon the quarter-deck, and beheld 
the expanse to the horizon around, filled 


(a) 


with mountains of water with crested 
top, tossing and raging in all directions. 
On one of these waves our noble ship 
rose gracefully to the top, whence I 
looked down to the deep gulf of waters 
below ; and another wave, tall as the 
one I rode upon, rushing onward to 
meet the ship as she descended; and 
the ship, like an arrow, dropping down 
to meet the wave; they met ; she paus- 
ed, trembled, and rose, and passed over. 
Three such waves, in rapid succession, 
our Captain saw approach the ship, in 
such direction as extinguished hope, 
and made him think her escape impos- 
sible ; each of which unexpectedly broke 
near the ship and passed harmlessly 
away. | 

Such are the evidences of our peril. 
Let us now survey the evidence, that 
God, in answer to prayer, interposed to 
protect and deliver us. 

By God, I mean not eternal, material, 
unthinking nature, of complex causations 


i, ie 


and indications of design, without a De- 
signer ; nor the mechanism of nature’s 
laws; the offspring of a Divine intelli- 
gence, and the sole executors of all the 
eternal counsels of his will, in his natu- 
ral and in his glorious mediatorial moral 
government ; a stupendous complex ma- 
chine ; one, on whose movements de- 
pend the physical events and moral 
histories of time ; whose pendulum, 
six thousand years ago, with cold heart 
and icy hand, he swung and turned his 
back upon our world, and has not en- 
tered it, and will not, till it has prepar- 
ed, by its own motions, his work for the 
Day of Judgment. 

There are no laws of nature, whose 
unwatched onward movement could ad- 
minister the rewards and punishments, 
and discipline and promised protections, 
in answer to prayer, of the remedial 
government of God. Left to them- 
selves, they move on without refer- 
ence to the character and deeds of 


( 13) 


men, and the exigencies of a reforming 
government in the hand of the Mediator. 
They are uniform in all their attributes 
and results, and must be, to answer 
the permanent and uniform ends of 
their agency ; and can, by no power of 
their own, accomplish these steady re- 
sults, and veer about continually to meet 
the ever-changing exigencies of a moral 
providence, to meet the continual fluc- 
tuations of human character, no more 
than the battery, chained down to 
one direction, can send protection or 
death to all points of the horizon, and 
the infinite variable exigencies of good 
or evil within its circumference ; no 
more than an army can stand still and 
run at the same time, or march at the - 
same time upon a straight and an infi- 
nitely crooked line. 

And yet, in the hand of God, they 
have a work to perform, which he can 
employ them to do, without so innovat- 
ing upon their uniformity, as to abolish 


(me) 


science and experience, and the caleu- 
lations of life. 

Some of these laws, men, in a limited 
sphere, can modify and apply to wise 
and useful purposes, without innovating 
upon their general unmodified order: as 
in agriculture and chemistry ; and mock 
storms, volcanoes, and earthquakes ; and 
cannot the God of storms and earth- 
quakes do the same? Once, for a thou- 
sand years, he did control the Laws of 
Nature, in many respects, aside from 
their native course, in good and evil, ac- 
cording to its character and deeds, in 
maintaining or abandoning his institu- 
tions and worship. Thus corroborating, 
by the sanctions of time, the motives of 
Eternity, in maintaining his worship 
against the encroachments of Idolatry. 

He sent the plagues of Egypt to de- 
liver them; gave them bread from 
Heaven, and water and meat in the 
barren wilderness. Once in seven years 
their land lay fallow, and the year 


( 15 ) 

preceding produced the results of 
two harvests ; and peace and war, and 
rain and drought, and abundance and 
famine, and sickness and health, and 
captivity or safety, were the varying and 
embodied allotments of their history, as 
they obeyed or disobeyed the laws and 
institutions of heaven. Now, I should 
be glad to know, where those laws of 
nature were, all this time; which are 
never reached by prayer, or touched by 
the hand of Omnipotence; and yet 
dodged about in endless mazes, to meet 
the ever-varying exigencies of a nation, 
for a thousand years, according to its 
character and deeds. 

How can prayer be answered by na- 
ture’s laws, when it is the single, 
onward, overpowering movement of na- 
ture’s laws which creates our distress, 
and nature has no ears to hear, and no 
mechanism to let on or let off the pres- 
sure as our exigencies demand? O God, 


it is thou that ridest on the whirlwind 
# 


( 16 ) 


and directest the storm. So in the hur- 
ricane we understood the matter, and 
went directly to him, who on earth 
walked upon the waves and stilled the 
tempest, and brought his disciples to 
land. And with infinite benignity he 
heard our prayer, and comforted our 
troubled heart, and delivered us. 

By what law of wind or wave could 
our ship have held on her course for 
386 hours, through raging winds, and 
over mountain waves and deep valleys, 
every moment changing their relation 
‘to the ship and her course, and environ- 
ing her with the network of Death ; any 
one of which, had it struck her in one 
of the thousand ways it might, was suf- 
ficient to whelm her in the deep? 

Where now was the mechanism of 
nature’s laws to save us; and who but 
God, by his providential control of them, 
could have opened a way for the ran- 
somed of the Lord to pass? What 
mechanism of nature’s laws stopped the 


(MET >) 


wreck and desolation, which for half 4 
day and more, had been multiplying 
upon us, from the time of our prayer, 
meeting, though the storm raged on for, 
#4 hours longer, with greater power 
and peril than before? Who saved us, | 
when the wind had knocked down our, 
good ship, and the wave had buried her 
gunwales and wheel-house, and she | 
struggled, and trembled, and groaned — 
through all her timbers, but could not. 
rise? And who stopped the lion mouth | 
of three successive waves, that rushed 
upon us, and broke and passed harm-— 
lessly away ? which produced the excla- 
mation of our Captain, “Surely there isa 
power above which is working for us.” 

And now, rescued from danger and 
death, by the merciful God to whom we 
cried in our distress; what shall we 
render unto him, each one of us, for this 
his merciful deliverance? Shall it be 
mere gladness that we have escaped, 
without gratitude to God? Shall it be 


( Is ) 


the quick oblivion of our distress, and 
confessions of sin, and resolutions of re- 
formation, and prayers and promises, if 
God would hearus? Shall the World, 
its pleasures, business, and love, annihi- 
lated in the light of Eternity, return to 
its strength; and, like the waves we 
have passed, roll over us, and sweep us 
away? Have any of you, till now, neg- 
lected known duties ; will you not from 
this time resume them? Have you lived 
habitually, in habitual and known sins ; | 
and will you not break them off? I be- 
seech you to do so, by the mercies of 
God, and the terrors of that day, if you 
persist, when death will come indeed, 
and you will then cry, and God will not 
answer. 

Has God, by the trumpet-tongue of 


wind and wave, preached a sermon to 


your inmost soul, and swept away the 


‘cobweb sophistries of your scepticism ? 
Be honest then, and fear God, and not 


the sneer of fools ; lest, if you relapse, 


( 19 ) 


he send upon you strong delusions, that 
you may be damned, because you have 
no pleasure in the truth ; but have plea- 
sure in unrighteousness. Has he open- 
ed the eyes of any of you, the children 
of Christian parents, to see your sin and 
danger ; and broken up, fora time, your 
habits of procrastination ? How shall you 
escape if you neglect now so great salva- 
tion? ‘Think what your condition was 
when the storm commenced; a poor 
hardened, stupid, diawhasiinati ne sinner. 
Think what, a few days ago, you would 
have promised and given, to be as safe 
as you now are. And think what con- 
victions of sin the Spirit of God has 
wrought on you, by means of the storm. 
And will you now quench the spirit, 
and go back to stupidity and folly? 

Alas, my friends, if you do so, the Spirit 
of God may give you up forever. If you 
do so, the day may come, when fears 
and terrors, surpassing those of , the 
storm, will come upon you in desolation ; 


( 20 ) 


and when you will again call on God, 
but he will not answer; and will ear- 
nestly seek him, but he will not be 
found. Now then, is God’s time and 
yours, to seek and secure the salvation 
of your souls. To-day, if ye will hear 
his voice, harden not your hearts. 

In anticipation of the hour which 
might sink us together in a watery 
grave, I had considered what I should 
say to impenitent sinners like you, when 
in the jaws of death you should with 
loud voices cry to me, “ What, what 
must we do?” and my answer prepared 
was, Believe instantly on the Lord Je- 
sus Christ, and you shall be saved ; love 
him, confide in him, and commit your 
soul to him; and, spite of the strife of 
elements and a terrific sudden death, 
you shall be saved; and what I would 
have said in such an exigency, I now 
repeat. Believe on the Lord Jesus 
Christ, and you shall be saved. 

Have any of you who are professing 


( 21 ) 


Christians, been living in a cold, for- 
mal state, conformed to the world in 
its temper, fashions, amusements, pleas- 
ures and business ; and have you con- 
fessed before God and bewailed these 
sins, and promised reformation, and 
found the tokens of pardon in the Love 
of Christ, shed abroad in your souls ; go 
your way then, in grateful love and 
steadfast obedience, lest, if you now 
fall away, a worse thing come upon 
you. 

And now let me inquire of my own 
heart, and of you, my beloved brethren 
in the ministry, what shall we render to 
the Lord, and how shall we fill up the 
measure of our new chartered time? I 
felt, as a father, the sudden, unlooked 
for parting with all my children, so long 
interwoven with every fibre of my heart ; 
and I prayed to the Lord that I might 
see them again. But, as a minister of 
Christ, I prayed more fervently to be 
spared, to do a few more things, which 


( 22 ) 


I had projected, for his service and glo- 
ry. And Igo home, resolved to post- 
pone the work no longer, but with 
double diligence to attempt its comple- 
tion. 

And may it not be well that each of 
us, by such reminiscences of past neg- 
lect, be quickened to redeem the time 
by double diligence; to clear off the 
docket of duties neglected, and to fill 
/ the remaining page of life with the 
things which ought to be done? And 
especially, shall we not give ourselves 
to prayer for those that sail with us in 
this ship, that God would begin and 
consummate a work of grace by ~his 
Spirit among them? ‘There has been 
much prayer already, I trust, for this 
purpose; and the solemnities of the 
scenes through which we have passed, 
have aroused attention and armed con- 
science with a new power; and pro- 
duced a new tenderness of mind and of 
good resolutions; a happy preparation 


Pe 5 


to be consummated by the Spirit in an- 
swer to prayer. And shall we not in 
our general vocation, walk more by faith 
in things not seen, and less by sight and 
the influences of time? Be swayed 
less by ambition and the praise of men ; 
and less by the pleasures of sense, or 
intellect and taste; and less by things 
useful, which appertain to the outworks 
of religion; and more to our direct 
preaching and pastoral labours, for the 
conversion of sinners and the augmen- 
tation of holiness in the Church of God? 

With such a mainspring in the hearts, 
and preaching of God’s ministry, revi- 
vals will multiply, and the harvest of 
the world will be planted and reaped ; 
while without, all will be but a splendid 
formal. machinery of unholiness, while 
the whole world lieth in wickedness, 
and the battle goes against the Church, 
and the glorious things spoken concern- 
ing Zion are deferred. | 

Oh, my brethren, what is the itching 


( 2 ) 


ear of mortals and the praise of men for 
brilliant classical sermons and splendid 
eloquence, which amuses the ear as a 
| pleasant song, or skilful music upon an 
instrument 5 but which awakens not the 
conscience, and pricks not the heart, 
and does not regenerate the soul by the 
power of the Spirit, and fit it for Hea- 
ven. God grant that by this storm we 
may all be made more spiritual, more 
prayerful, more faithful, and more suc- 
cessful and happy, in winning souls to 
Christ ! 


GOD'S PROVIDENCE 


THE JUST GROUND 


CONFIDENCE, LOVE AND GRATITUDE. 


A Discourse; 


BY THE REV. THOMAS SMYTH, D.D. 


Oh that men would praise the Lord for his good- 
ness, and for his wonderful works to the children 
of men ! 

And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, 
and declare his works with rejotcing. 

Let them exalt him also in the congregation of the 
people, and praise him im the assembly of the 
elders. —-PSALM cvii., 21, 22, 32. 


As it regards the occasion on which 
this Psalm was written, we have no in- 
formation. Indeed, it would seem to 
have been designed for all occasions, 
and to refer to no particular event. Its 
illustrations are drawn from the general 


( 2 ) 


course of Divine Providence, and ad- 
dressing themselves to men in “ whatso- 
ever state they are,” it teaches them 
therewith to be content, and therein to 
recognize, and seek, the divine guidance 
and blessing. 

The nature and object of the Psalm is, 
however, very apparent. ‘‘ Eternal mer- 
cy is the theme here proposed; and 
they who have tasted its sweets are in- 
vited to join in setting forth its praises.” 
As the preceding Psalms alluded to 
God’s dealings with Israel, this refers 
to His general superintendence of the 
material world, and his special care of 
mankind in general. And the admiring 
praise, confidence, and affection of all 
his creatures are shown to be imperative- 
ly binding, since all are the recipients of 
His kindness and compassion, and the 
objects of his watchfulness and inter- 
posing mercy. 

There are three truths of great and 
practical importance, which are here 


‘ey ee 


forcibly impressed upon us, and to which 
we will briefly advert. 

I. And in the first place, it is here 
very distinctly taught that all the laws 
of nature, by which the physical and ma- 
terial world are governed, are under 
the direct and immediate control of 
God, and are made to work out the 
accomplishment of His plans. -It does 
not appear to have been the purpose 
of God so to order these laws as to se- 
cure in this world, and as ¢¢ regards the 
things of this life, a perfect distribution 
of rewards and punishments adapted to 
the various character of individual men. 
On the contrary, while the events that 
befall us here are sufficient to prove that 
on the whole, and in the ultimate result, 
virtue leads to happiness, and vice to 
misery, and that there is a moral Gov- 
ernor who has founded this distinction 
between right and wrong on the 1mmu- 
table and eternal principles of His own 
divine nature ; nevertheless it has ever 


2 & 


N 


been observed by all classes and con- 
ditions of men, that the distribution of 
temporal blessings is characterized by 
great uncertainty and frequent varia- 
tions. Virtue is not always prosperous, 
nor vice always disastrous. On the 
contrary, outward wealth, honour, and 
happiness, frequently strew their flowers 
along the path, and weave their garlands 
around the brow, of the atheist, the in- 
fidel, and the ungodly ; while the meek 
and humble servant of the Lord is al- 
lowed to feel, as he urges on his weary 
way through sickness, poverty, and hu- 
miliation, that 


The path of sorrow, and that path alone, 
Leads to the land where sorrow is unknown. 


The observation of this inequality 
and uncertainty of Divine Providence 
has led in every country and age to 
the most bitter lamentation and com- 
plaint, and in many cases to utter scep- 
ticism and disbelief in any God, pro- 
vidence, or holiness. 


ae) 


Now that such is the character of the 
present dispensation, neither experience 
nor revelation permit us to doubt. 
“Death,” as the type and index of all 
earthly calamity, “has passed upon all 
men ;” and as it regards affliction, dis- 
ease, distress and misery, “one thing 
happeneth alike to all.” Inward char- 
acter is not measured by outward sta- 
tion, nor our standing in the estimate 
of God by our reputation among men. 
We are not permitted to expect our re- 
compense and reward in the good things 
of this life, nor to judge of the nature of 
our future inheritance by that of the frail 
tabernacle and poor condition in which 
weare here permitted to pass “ the days 
of the years of our pilgrimage.” “ ‘The 
days of darkness,” “ the bitterness of the 
heart,” must come upon us all, and from 
this fierce warfare of contending evil, 
‘there is no discharge.” 

And here it is, brethren, that Reve- 
lation comes in to irradiate the dark- 


(3.4 


ness which must otherwise envelope 
human life and destiny, and to relieve 
our minds from that fatality and atheis- 
tic rejection of all belief in God or his 
providence, into which they would be 
otherwise inevitably plunged. We see 
in the confessions of the Psalmist (Psal. 
Ixxiii), the state of mind to which, but 
for this blessed volume, we would all 
be brought ; and the hopeless misery 
which would crush and weigh down our 
hearts. And it is only when, like him, 
we come forth into the sunlight of di- 
vine truth, that “the eyes of our un- 
derstanding,” are enabled to take a coms 
prehensive view of the whole scheme 
of the divine government, and that, look- 
ing at the end as well as the beginning, 
the future as wellas the present, and the 
spiritual as well as the physical, we can 

‘ed ustify eternal Providence, 

And vindicate the ways of God to men. 

In the light of immortality, and of a 

future judgment, when we shall all be 


oe 

awarded‘ according to the deeds done in 
our bodies, whether they have been 
good, or whether they have been evil,” 
and receive “ glory, honour, and immor- 
tality,” or “shame, and everlasting con- 
tempt,” we can at once perceive the 
wisdom of that economy which, while it 
gives assurance that virtue is the only 
pledge of security, and vice the sure 
prelude to destruction, leaves room for 
the exercise of faith and patience, and 
trusting confidence, and hopeful antici- | 
pation ;—makes manifest the true prin- 
ciples of the heart ;—weans the soul 
from earth, and elevates it to heavenly 
aspirations ;—and makes God’s people 
‘willing to be absent from the body, and 
to be present with the Lord,” in that 
mansion where sin, sickness, sorrow, 
and trial will never come. 

But while Scripture warrants the con- 
‘clusion of experience, that piety is not 
adequately rewarded by temporal bene- 
fits, and that the ungodly, like Dives, 


G8) 

are often permitted through a long life of 
prosperity, to enjoy their “goood things,” » 
it is at the same time very positive in 
ascribing the whole government and 
direction of all physical phenomena, as 
well as of all human events, to God’s 
overruling providence. “In His hand is 
the soul of every living thing, and the 
breath of all mankind. He forms the 
light, and he creates darkness. He 
makes peace, and creates evil; I the 
Lord,” says he, “do all these things.” 
“The Lord maketh a way in the sea, and 
apath in the mighty waters. He doeth 
according to his will in the army of hea- 
ven, and among the inhabitants of the 
earth. He severeth the sea with his pow- 
er, and by his understanding he smiteth 
through the proud.” (Job. xii. 10. Is. 
xlvi7. Dan. v. 23. Isaiah xhii. 6, as 
and Job. xxvi. 12.) 

Such, however, my brethren, is not the 
view commonly received. Not only 


( 9) 


among philosophers, but even among ma- 
ny nominal Christians, the opinion pre- 
vails that God sitsremoved from all direct 
and personal interest in his works, and 
leaves them to the silent and undisturbed 
operation of those laws by which they are 
controlled. ‘ And they say, how doth 
God know, and is there knowle dgein the 
Most High ?” (Psalm Ixxiii. 11.) These 
are the scoffers who say, “ Where is the 
promise of his coming ? for since the fa- 
thers fell asleep, all things continue as 
they were from the beginning of the 
creation.” (2 Peter, i.3,4,) “And they 
consider not in their hearts that I re- 
member all their wickedness.” (Hos. 
CVil. 2.) 

To all such reasonings, however,Scrip- 
ture opposes its positive affirmations, its 
clear and unquestionable promises, and 
its innumerable proofs, derived from the 
incontestible history of individuals and 
communities. It teaches us that the laws 
of nature are only the purposes of the 


fs | 


(10) 


Law-giver, and derive all their potency 
from the power, the wisdom, and the 
will, of God. Tt teaches us that these 
laws are subservient to God’s plans, and 
not independent of Him. It teaches us 
that while God governs by these laws, 
He works, also through them, the full ac- 
complishment of all “ the good pleasure 
of His will.” And it teachesus that while 
God upholds these laws in order to af- 
ford, in their constancy, a foundation for 
foresight, industry and toil, and is there- 
fore long-suffering and kind “ to the just 
and the unjust,” that, nevertheless, He 


“is not slack concerning his promises,” 


and that “‘ the day of the Lord ” in which 
wisdom will be justified and wickedness 
condemned, “ will come,” and will not 
tarry. And it teaches us that while na- 
ture moves forward in her undisturbed 
harmony, leaving her processes to carry 
life or death, peace or distraction, 
health or sickness, to those who come 


under their influence, God sits like a 


(diy 


governor at the helm of universal nature, 
and “makes everything to work toge- 
ther for the good ” of them that trust in 
Him, for the security and triumph of his 
Church, and for the punishment and 
overthrow of evil-doers. 

Such is the undoubted teaching of 
this:sublime Psalm. All things are here 
represented as under the immediate and 
direct control of God, whose ministers 
and servants they are. The material 
elements obey his-voice and do his will. 
The mighty ocean, with its world off 
waters and its irresistible billows, rised 
or falls, rages or becomes appeased) 
wages destruction or wafts in comfort 
and in security, according to the fiat. of 
His omnipotent will. (Ps. cvii. 23-30.) 
Even the inanimate materials of this 
solid earth become, through His power, 
animate with life, are covered with 
fertility and verdure, and bring forth 
the kindly herb and all the various 
“fruits of increase,’ or are turned into 


(92) 


a wilderness and barrenness for the 
wickedness of them that dwell there- 
in.” (Ps. evil. 33-35.) The cattle also, 
and the various tribes of lower animals, 
are the Lord’s ;—receive their food at 
His hands ;—and are made to further the 
comfort and happiness of man. (Psalm 
evii. 38.) Ina still more eminent degree . 
are the persons of men under the wise 
governance of our Heavenly Father, so 
that life and death, health and sickness, 
prosperity and adversity, deliverance 
and endurance, and even the place of 
their habitation, are all chosen, and di- 
rected, and overruled by God. (Psalm 
evil. 9, 10-18, 14, 18,19.) Life is thus a 
pilgrimage through a wilderness of cares, 
in which God is our guide, and under 
all of which He is our support, and “a 
very present help in time of trouble.” 
But this is not all. For not only is this 
overruling providence of God represent- 
ed as extending to individual persons, 
and to all that can concern man’s bodily 


(21g) | 


or spiritual wants, but to comprehend 
also, in its wide and universal dominion, 
all the societies and nations of the earth. 
National calamities it declares to be di- 
vine judgments, and national prosperity 
a divine blessing ; and while the very 
loftiest of earthly potentates are de- 
scribed as not exempt from God’s au- 
thority and control, we are assured that 
the very meanest and lowest of mankind 
are not excluded from a participation in 
His loving-kindness and tender mercy. 
(Psalm evil. 34, 59, 35-38, 40, 41.) . 

II. But we are here taught, in the se- 
cond place, that in this exercise of His 
universal and particular providence, God 
displays the mora/ as well as the natural 
attributes of his being, and demonstrates 
in a pre-eminent manner that his “ ten- 
der mercy is over all his other works.” 

We are not to imagine that God’s 
providence is synonymous with the laws 
He has attached to the works of his 
hands. God’s overruling guidance of 


( A) 
the laws of the physical, intellectual and 
moral world does not constitute these 
laws, or make them what they are. It 
implies necessarily their existence, and 
affirms only that as already in opera- 
tion they are guided and controlled. 
It is true that these laws are from God, 
“py whom all things consist,” but still 
they are from Him not as the God of 
providence, but as the God of creation. 
The nature of these laws, their neces- 
sity, their wisdom, and their adaptation, 
on the whole, to promote the safety, se- 
curity and comfort of mankind, might be 
shown, as it has often been, from a con- 
sideration of the constitution of the 
world, and the relation of its several 
parts to man and to one another. It is, 
indeed, too evident to admit of question, 
that the natural, necessary, and ordinary 
working of the laws of nature, is the 
preservation of order, stability, security 
and safety, and that all the evils that 
arise are only incidental to the accom- 


Cb} 


plishment of permanent and general 
benefit. But still this is not the ques- 
tion involved in the consideration of the 
divine providence. ‘The consideration 
suggested by this doctrine is—are these 
laws left to work out their imvoluntary 
results by the undisturbed force of me- 
chanical necessity, or are they overruled 
by that same wisdom which first im- 
posed them ; are they controlled by that 
same power which still sustains them ; 
and are they made to illustrate the good- 
ness and mercy of that great and gra- 
cious Being who first brought into being 
this habitable globe? Now that they 
are, is what is here affirmed. It is here 
taught that these laws are thus guided, 
and that we are not the helpless victims 
of involuntary and invincible laws, and 
the blind slaves of a system of heartless 
fatalism, but that we are subjects of a 
moral government, and under laws 
which are overruled by infinite wisdom 
and infinite goodness. 


Cay 


This goodness of God, as well as his 
other moral attributes—such as his jus- 
_ tice and his truth—are made apparent 
even in the calamities which are permit- 
ted to befal us, as well as in the mer- 
cies with which we are “ encompassed 
round about.” Goodness will itself re- 
quire the exercise of that moral disci- 
pline which is necessary to perfect mo- 
ral character; the punishment of evil 
and of evil-doers ; and whatever else is 
needful to make men awake to the con- 
sideration of their present condition, and 
their future destiny, and thus lead them 
to secure their best temporal and eter- 
nal interests. Now this is just the end 
aimed at, and the good accomplished by 
those manifold trials of various kinds 
through which we are here called to 
pass, and by which we learn that “ ver- 
ily there is a God that judgeth in the 
earth, and shat verily there is a reward 
for the righteous.” And it is when they 
see in all these events the purpose of 


Adio 


God towards his people, and his ven- 
geance towards his enemies, that “ the 
righteous shall see z¢, and rejoice ; and 
all iniquity shall stop her mouth. Who- 
so 7s wise, and will observe these things, 
even they shall understand the loving- 
kindness of the Lord.” 

But if this is true even of the calami- 
tiesand distresses of life ; ifeven in these 
we behold the goodness as well as the 
severity of the Lord ; how much more is 
it the case as it regards all those innu- 
-merable acts of loving-kindness and 
tender mercy with which God crowns 
his people, and which he makes to “ fol- 
low them all the days of their life.’’ 

III. We are therefore led to the third 
lesson which is here so pointedly en- 
forced, that the providence of God lays 
the foundation for love and confidence, 
and demands our gratitude and reliance. 

“Oh that men would praise the Lord 
for his goodness, and for his wonderful 
works to the children of men ! 


( 18) 

“‘ And let them sacrifice the sacrifices 
of thanksgiving, and declare his works 
with rejoicing. 

‘Let them exalt him also in the con- 
gregation of the people, and praise him 
in the assembly of the elders.” 

This doctrine is the foundation for 
prayer. Prayer is the supplication of 
that help and assistance from God which 
we cannot derive from any resources of 
our own, or from any created arm. It 
implies, therefore, and presupposes the 
possibility of His interference—not to 
alter and destroy, but to overrule and 
guide—those laws from which» we 
anticipate evil, and which He alone 
can “make to work together for our 
good.” 

This doctrine encourages us to effort 
both as it regards temporal and spiritual 
good. We work with all our might, be- 
cause we look for heavenly blessing ; and 
we “ work out our own salvation with 
fear and trembling, because it is God 


( 19 ) 


who worketh in us both to will and to 
do of his good pleasure.” 

This doctrine also sustains us under 
difficulty. We are cast down, but not 
in despair. When we are weak then 
we are strong. And when we feel most 
deeply that in ourselves we are nothing, 
we are then able to do all things through 
Him who fills us with “all might in the 
inner man.” Yea, with this doctrine in 
our hearts, what can harm us, or who 
can be against us? No evil can befall 
us but what God “ will enable us to 
bear, and with every trial He will make 
a way of escape.” Even in death we 
need not despair, nor “fear any evil 
when we enter into the dark valley ” of 
death’s fearful shadow. Even there His 
rod and his staff shall comfort us. Dark- 
ness will become light, and despair tri- 
umph, and in the fulness of joy we shall 
exclaim, “‘ O, death, where és thy sting ? 
O grave, where is thy victory ?” 

It is apparent, therefore, that where 


( 20 ) 


there is right feeling, and a right state 
and disposition of the heart, God’s guid- 
ance will be acknowledged in the events 
and the direction of our lives, and His 
condescending goodness in all the mer- 
cies and deliverances with which he kas 
vouchsafed to bless us. Nothing is more 
apparent than this truth in all the re- 
cords of the Bible, and especially in the 
overflowings of the heart of God’s be- 
lieving people as exhibited in this book 
of Psalms. 

Of this feeling, in connexion with this 
very subject, I had a recent and most 
powerful illustration, which at once sug- 
gested, and led to the immediate pre- 
paration of this discourse, while on 
board the Great Western Steamer dur- 
ing her recent voyage. We left Liver- 
pool on September 12th, with about 150 
passengers on board, amid the congratu- 
lations of a numerous throng of specta- 
tors and friends ; with a smooth sea and 
a favouring breeze ; and full of hope 


( Bj 


and buoyant anticipation of a speedy 
voyage and a happy reunion with our 
families and friends. For eight days 
our voyage was unusually peaceful and 
prosperous ; but like Israel, in our pros- 
perity we forgat God, and failed to 
recognise His hand, and to recount His 
mercies. For while we had two ser- 
vices on the Sabbath, we had no daily 
service of praise and prayer, although, 
as it subsequently appeared, there was 
on board a large number of professors of 
religion, and but few despisers of it.* 


* Probably a disposition to have such a service 
(which was generally attended by nearly all the 


passengers during the remainder of the voyage) 


was repressed by a doubt whether its observance 
would be in accordance with the rules of the ship, es- 
pecially as many of the passengers had knowledge 
of the harsh and illiberal policy enforced on board 
the Cunard line of steamboats, in one of which, I 
am informed, a petition of a large number of pas- 
Sengers to be allowed to hear a very distinguished 
preacher was refused, and that, too, when no other 
minister officiated. 


( 22 ) 


On Saturday evening, (September 
20th), we were overtaken by a gale 
blowing from the 8. W. Probably not 
a passenger on board slept during the 
night. Indeed, every thing was in 
commotion, both below and upon the 
decks. Whatever was moveable was 
heaving toand fro ; and while the how!- 
ing of the winds, as they swept by the 
masts and cordage, the breaking of 
timbers, the shattering and flapping of 
the shivered sails, and the rattling of 
chains, chairs, furniture, and utensils, 
filled the mind with “a fearful looking 
for of” impending destruction ; all the 
strength of the passengers was neces- 
sary t oprevent themselves from being | 
hurled from their places of repose. The 
morning brought with it a realization of 
these midnight fears. All was confu- 
sion and alarm. But little provision 
could be prepared, and that little could 
with difficulty be received. ‘The lights 


ae » re) le ee 
( 28 ) 


over the cabins had been broken by the 
force of the waves, which were now 
sweeping over the vessel in all direc- 
tions, so that every place was wet and 
comfortless. It was, indeed, almost im- 
possible to make a passage from the 
forward cabin to the principal saloon. 
The wind—which shifted about 20 points 
during the gale—had roused so many 
cross seas, and seas of such stupendous 
size and irresistible fury, that although 
we were lying to, with the helm hard- 
lashed, and avoiding as much as possible 
the approach of the waves towards the 
sides of the vessel, they were neverthe- 
less driving against her with increasing 
number and incalculable power. Many 
of them, it was computed, could not 
have combined less than fifty tons of wa- 
ter,which was impelled with the momen- 
tum of an avalanche. The vessel, too, 
was enveloped in an atmosphere of 
spray, so that none but the hardiest 


eee ae 


( 24) 


seamen could venture on the deck, and 
frequently even these could only secure 
their footing by the help of some firm 
fixture. 

About mid-day, after repeated flood- 
ings of the cabin, a huge wave ‘struck 
the vessel at midships; tore away the 
whole covering and protection of the 
paddle-wheel, and bent the wheel it- 
self; swept from its firm foundation, and 
split into two pieces, the entire house 
devoted to the keeping of provisions ; 
tore from its fastenings the immense 
iron life-boat which hung over the mid- 
dle of the ship, and almost: carried it 
overboard ; ripped up a part of the deck 
with the funnel guard of the machi- 
nery ; carried away the guards to the 
deck stairways ; and then poured its vast 
contents over the upper deck, sweeping 
with it the captain, who had been stun- 
ned by a blow from the broken timbers, 
and was preserved onJy by the iron 


err at 2 ee. CE . 
( Mp. >) 


guards, and then burst from their firm 
stancheons the boats fastened to the 
ship’s side I was looking upwards from 
the saloon when this wave rolled over 
us, after making every one reel and 
stagger under its shock like a drunken 
man. It almost obscured the light of day, 
and I felt that we were actually with- 
in the bosom of the deep. Soon, how- 
ever, it appeared as if we should be com- 
pletely submerged in water, for the im- 
petuous torrent forced its way down the 
cabin-stairs, and filling its broad gang- 
way, forced a passage through the win- 
dow into the ladies’ saloon, and from 
thence poured along the cabins. Fearful 
was that moment which—as we felt the 
vessel through all her timbers tremble 
under the dreadful stroke—brought the 
sad and awiul prospect of a speedy and 
inevitable destruction, in terrible reality 
before every mind. Then the most un- 
yielding hearts shrunk, and the most 
hardened became soft and tender, while 


(. 26% ) 


those who were most skilled in nautical 
affairs, and most experienced in sea-far- 
ing life, were most anxious and appre- 
hensive for the future. Indeed, our cap- 
tain, and another who had made some 
hundred voyages in some twenty differ- 
ent vessels, had never seen so fierce a 
hurricane, of such long and therefore ag- 
gravating force. 

At this moment the captain was seen 
retiring to his cabin to recover from his 
shock and the violence of the blow he 
had received, and from beneath the cur- 
tain was observed standing with clasp- 
ed hands and tearful eye before the por- 
trait of his wife and child, whom, as he 
afterwards* confessed, he never expect- 


* It must not be thought that the captain mani- 
fested any signs of fear, or in any way encouraged 
despondency or fostered despair. His conduct on 
this occasion was in the swpposed secresy of his own 
private cabin, and gave proof of genuine tender- 
ness of heart and of true manhood ; while his im- 
mediate return to duty and exposure, and his undis- 
turbed calmness and courage proved him to be wor- 


CHS 


ed to see again in the flesh, since he 
looked for a repetition of such shocks, 
and the consequent ruin of the vessel, 
whose deck timbers had already mani- 
fested signs of being shaken. It was, 
therefore, with emotions of peculiar so- 
lemnity the passengers constituted a 
meeting for prayer, and cast their help- 
less souls upon the mercy of that only 
Being who could hold in His hands the 
winds and the waves, say unto them, 
“thus far shalt thou go,” and command 
them to be at peace. And as the eve- 
ning brought no cessation of the storm, 
it was proposed, in addition to prayer, 
to administer the communion to such as 
were prepared to receive it. Never had 
Il witnessed such a scene, and never 
could I have realized its solemnity. 
About seventy sat around the tables, 
and about eight of them, after conversa- 


thy of the high and responsible situation he occu- 
pies with so much honour to the Directors, and so 
much gratification to all his passengers. 


( 28 ) 


tion with the minister, for the first time, 
and there,in silent reverence, avouched 
their faith in the Redeemer, their confi- 
dence in His blood and merits, and 
their hope for death, judgment and eter- 
nity, through His interceding love and 
mercy. The effect was most happy. A 
calm and delightful repose seemed to 
take the place of anxious solicitude, and 
we all sought some situation where we 
might await the issues of another night. 

New terrers awaited us during that 
eventful night. The winds had gath- 
ered fresh force, and the waves intenser 
violence. Instead of being driven be- 
fore the fury of a pursuing enemy too 
powerful for resistance, we were expos- 
ed to the rage and clamour of contend- 
ing hosts, and shattered by that very 
violence with which they dashed one 
against another. The fiercest winds of 
heaven exhausted their vengeance on 
the deep, and the deep aroused its 
angry billows, with which it mount- — 


( 29) 


ed up to heaven to repel arfd. drive back 
its dread assailant. And as the hurri- 
cane wheeled about to make its onset 
from some new quarter, the waves dash- 
ed one against another, and, worked up 
into ungovernable rage, poured their 
united force in all directions, against the 
invisible foe. In the midst of these as- 
sailants, thus encountering one another, 
we lay helpless and hopeless. We 
mounted up to heaven, and then de- 
scended into the depths ; were naw car- 
ried upwards as if to sink stern foremost 
into the abyss, and again rolled upon 
our beam-ends as if about to be over- 
turned, and cast forth into the bowels 
of the deep. 

There we lay, with as little power to 
resist or escape, as when the avalanche 
has loosened itself from its hold, and 
pours down its mountain mass upon the 
helpless villagers below. 

For thirty-six hours we had hung bal- 
anced between life and death, with the 


( 30 ) 


weight that pressed the scales of death 
downward increasing momently, and the 
hopes that still preserved the downward 
tendency of the scale of life becoming 
fainter and fainter. But while the gates 
of death were opened to receive us, He 
who has the keys of death and hell in his 
hands, delivered us from going down to 
the pit, and rescued us from the very jaws 
of destruction which were wide opened. 
to engulf us. The winds obeyed his 
voice, and retired to their secret cham- 
bers. The waves heard his command, 
and shrunk within their appointed 
bounds ; and that ocean which seemed 
to have been aroused to a ceaseless agi- 
tation, gave evidence of approaching 
rest. 

«The waters saw thee, O God; the 
waters saw THEE; they were afraid ; 
the depths also were troubled. The 
voice of thy thunder was in the heaven. 
Thy way was in the seas, and thy path 
in the great waters.” “ He divided the 


G2 


sea,and caused us to pass through ; and 
he made the waters to” subside. When 
we cried unto Him in our trouble, he 
saved us out of our distresses. “At his 
rebuke the winds and the waves fled, 
and at the voice of his thunder they 
hasted away.” The noise of their bat- 
tle was hushed, and the fury of their 
encounter stayed. All their power 
against us was nought. We _ passed 
through the waters, but they did not 
overflow us, and through the floods, but 
they did not get hold upon us. God 
walked upon the wings of the winds, so 
that they could not harm us; and set a 
bound to the waters, so that they could 
not overwhelm us. Then were we glad 
because their fury was quie%ed, and we 
were enabled to hope that God would 
bring us to our desired haven. 

The violence of the hurricane having 
now abated, although still tossed about 
like a feather in the air, we were found 
on ‘Tuesday morning, with almost no ex- 


( 32 ) 


ception, in the main saloon, to return 
solemn thanks to Him whom the winds 
and the waves had obeyed, and to praise 
the Lord for his goodness and for his 
wonderful works to the children of men. 
And as our service proceeded, and the 
Rev. Dr. Beecher, in full consonance 
with the occasion, depicted the dangers 
we had escaped, and the duties we now 
owed, and portrayed the still greater 
dangers of everlasting destruction from 
the presence of the Lord, and the duty 
of at once flying from the wrath to come, 
every heart was melted, and those who 
had never prayed before, were bent in 
humble supplication to the Lord. 

It was then proposed that resolutions 
be adopted expressive of our thankful- 
ness to God ; and that, as a testimonial 
of our gratitude to Him, and to those 
brave seamen who had so nobly acted 
as His instruments, we should raise a 
contribution, to be divided among the 
captain, officers, and crew, and also con- _ 


s 


tribute something towards the founda- 
tion of an Institution in New-York, to be 
called The Great Western Institution, 
for the relief of the Widows and Or- 
phans of those who have perished at sea. 
The amount collected was, for the for- 
mer $1000, and about $600 for the 
latter. 

And now, brethren, let the narrative 
of this event, and the exposition of this 
subject, lead us all to feel, in view of 
’ the past dealings of God towards’ us as 
individuals, that love and gratitude 
which such a review is adapted and in- 
tended to inspire. 

What a picture, my -brethren, was 
presented by the scene I have attempt- 
ed to depict! Could an actual portrai- 
ture be drawn of the whole event—and 
could that picture bring to light the 
emotions and the thoughts of every 
heart—how sublime and impressive 
would it be! Could we see that chaos 
of agitated waters; the vessel, like a 


( 34 ) 

cork, tossed to and fro upon its billows, 
—the dark misgivings, and fearful ap- 
prehensions of every passenger,—the 
penitence and remorse which, like a 
dark. shadow, covered the remembrance 
of past. sinfulness,—and the anxious 
alarm with which all looked to Him 
who was now standing at the door, and 
of whose throne justice and judgment 
are the habitation ;—how would it fill 
us also, even now, with sympathetic emo- 
tions, and correspondent fears. And as 
we saw those clouds dispersing; the 
rays of hope breaking through, “like 
sun-blinks in the storm of death ;” the 
thoughts and hopes of life animating 
with joy every countenance ; that tem- 
pest-tossed vessel again become the ha- 
bitation of peace, and joy, and mutual 
congratulation ;—how would our hearts 
exult with theirs, and beat high with 
emotions of gratitude and praise. 

Let every imagination, then, create, 
from this partial statement, such a pic- — 


Soe: 


ture, and let every heart be filled in its 
contemplation with such joyful gratula- 
tions. And in view of all God’s wonder- 
ful works to the children of men, and to 
ourselves in particular, let the goodness 
of God lead us to repentance,—to faith, 
and toa humble, hearty, and heartfelt 
consecration to His service. Let us 
sacrifice the sacrifice of thanksgiving, 
and declare His works with rejoicing. 
Let us exalt him in the congregation 
of the people, and praise Him in the 
assembly of the elders. And let our 
lives and our efforts, our charity, liber- 
ality, and zeal, bear witness to the 
depth and sincerity of our faith. 

We are surrounded by dangers, and 
in the midst of the most quiet and re- 
tired life we are in death. On my out- 
ward voyage we were a day and a 
night in the midst of several hundred 
icebergs, and at the same time envel- 
oped in adense fog. In my subsequent 
journeying, I was thrown with violence 


CO] 


from an open carriage when in full mo- 
tion. And now, on my return, I have 
just escaped with my life. But, after 
all, such events only bring to notice, and 
make manifest, that danger to which 
we are all constantly exposed ; and that 
providential care to which we are as 
constantly indebted; and while they 
claim at our hands special remembrance 
and enlarged thankfulness, they ought 
only the more sensibly to impress upon 
our minds the truth that it is in God 
‘‘we live, and move, and have our 
being ;” that we are only safe in His 
arms, and under His guidance—and 
that it is our happiness as much as our 
duty to live in His sight, and to “cast 
all our cares on Him who careth for 
us.” 

But while God has showered upon 
us his temporal mercies, He has “ com- 
MENDED His love to us, in that while 
we were yet sinners, Christ died for 
the ungodly.” This is God’s greatest — 


( et’) 


mercy—His stupendous gift—that ten- 
der mercy that is over all his other 
works. The truth, the sincerity, the 
depth of our thankfulness, and grati- 
tude, are demonstrated, therefore, by 
our treatment of the Gospel, and our 
conduct towards the Saviour. “For 
we thus judge, that if Christ died for 
all then were all dead, and that He 
died for all, that they who live should 
live not unto themselves, but unto Him 
who died for them, and rose again.” 
If, therefore, you “neglect this great 
salvation,” and refuse to hear the voice 
of this Redeemer, to submit yourselves 
to His service, and to follow His re- 
quirements, then assuredly you will be 
found among His enemies when “ He 
comes to judge the world in righteous- 
ness,” and the awful curse will be exe- 
cuted upon you—“ If any man love not 
the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be ana- 
thema maranatha.” 

Whether you shall die on land or on 


i ee 


( 38 ) 


sea,—whether you shall live longer or 
shorter,—and whether your condition 
shall be prosperous or adverse,—the last 
day and the last hour will come ; death 
will come; “that judgment which is 
after death,” will comé, and you will 
find yourself amid all the solemn and 
eventful realities of eternity. 

This leads me to remark, in conclu- 
sion, that there is one aspect of this 
event which is more truly fearful than 
any yet described. It is true, as I have 
stated, that during the continuance of 
the hurricane every heart was melted 
and every conscience busy, and that 
then none were willing to assume the 
character or the bold front of hardened 
infidelity. The voice of blasphemy 
was hushed,—the words of ribaldry si- 
lenced,—the instruments of gambling 
unopened,—and the bowl of intoxication 
unquaffed. All were then willing to 
avow their fears, and open up their 
hearts, and seek counsel and advice. 


( 39 ) 


But when the storm had ceased, how 
different was the scene! Some, it is to 
be feared, may have repented of their re- 
pentance, and have grieved for their 
grief, and have become ashamed at the 
remembrance of their fears. Some, alas ! 
may thus harden their hearts and stiffen 
their necks, laugh at their fears, and 
make a jest of death. Ministers and 
prayers, and sermons, and devotion, 
may become their scorn, and their blas- 
phemy, till, like the steel which has 
been tempered in the fire, their hearts 
may become harder than ever, and they 
themselves live only to fill up the mea- 
sure of their iniquity, and become pre- 
pared as vessels fitted for destruction, 
and as victims salted with fire for ever- 
lasting burning. 

But even while we thus express our 
fears, far different are our hopes and our 
prayers, for God is-witness that “ our 
heart’s desire and prayer” for all who 
have been partakers alike of our danger 


ee 
( 40 ) 


and our deliverance is, “‘ that they may 
be saved.” | 

Brethren, let the very b stibiai of ; 
such a dreadful consequence duly im- 
press your minds. Many have been the 
mercies you have received, and the de- 
liverances you have experienced. And 
above all other mercies,—to you has the 
word of God’s salvation been sent, and 
to you has the glorious Gospel of the 
blessed God been preached. Many are 
the convictions which, under the striv- 
ing of the Spirit, you have felt, and the 
purposes of devotion you have formed. 
But you may have grown careless with 
returning ease, and lost those purposes 
amid the distractions of business and 
pleasure. And to this hour you may 
have continued to turn a deaf ear to the 
warnings of Providence and the invita- 
tions of the Gospel, and may therefore 
be still ‘without. God, and without 
hope in the world.” 

But if this is the case, is dealane 


(i 5 


ground to fear that this Gospel is hid to 
you because you are lost; that, having 
hardened your neck against reproof, you 
will suddenly be destroyed, and that . 
without remedy; that in due time your 
feet will slide; and that in such a mo- 
ment as you think not, the storm of 
death will arise, the winds of God’s 
vengeance begin to blow, and the waves 
of perdition to roll, when you will be 
swept as by the besom of destruction, 
and swallowed up in the bottomless 
depths of the ocean of eternity. 

“Be ye therefore ready, for in such 
an hour as ye think not, the Son of 
Man cometh.” 

Wait not for God to come to you, but 
wait wpon God. Wait not till God call 
you to repentance, but cry unto Him 
that he may at once hear, and answer, 
and bless and save. God in the kingdom 
of grace, as well as in the kingdom of 
nature, has established a connection of 
probability and subordination between 


( 48) 


the regular use of means and the de- 
sired end. He has appointed means not 
only for Himself to work by, but for us 
to work with. And even as in provi- 
dence, though God knows and has de- 
termined who shall be rich and prosper- 
ous, and who not, yet we find the means 
and end generally connected together, 
so is it in the business of salvation. 
« Work out, then, your own salvatiun 
with fear and trembling, since it is God 
who worketh in you to will and to do 
of His good pleasure. “Ask, and you 
shall receive ; seek, and you shall find ; 
ii and it shall be opened unto 
you.” And may God grant it to His 
glory and your salvation, and His shall 
be all the praise. Amen. 


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